NEW YORK—The scene would be ripe for mocking if it weren’t so tragically stupid.

Jason Kidd hasn’t always made the best choices. For proof, there’s that long-ago bathtub scene with his wife and kids, a picture that was meant to portray his happy, perfect family. Then came the subsequent domestic violence charge involving his now ex-wife, to which he pled guilty. But all of this was a lifetime ago, and Kidd, to his credit, diligently rebuilt his reputation so that he was considered a man who could be trusted, a mentor even.

The Knicks thought so highly of Kidd and his leadership, they signed him just last week to a three-year deal worth $9.5 million. At age 39, and with his Hall of Fame credentials already complete, they figured Kidd could still fit several roles. He’d be dangerous at crunch time, he’d be the ideal backup and teacher for Jeremy Lin, and he’d be a savvy bench coach, a veteran who has seen and done most everything.

One monumentally bad choice has crushed it all.

It’s still unclear what the Knicks plan to do now that Kidd, two nights after signing his latest deal, has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing his Cadillac Escalade into a telephone pole in the Hamptons. Police said Kidd was treated for minor injuries at Southampton Hospital before being arraigned on a misdemeanor DWI charge, which carries the potential for up to a year in jail.

Sources told TMZ that Kidd was “incredibly drunk” and had to be carried out of a Hamptons nightclub by friends. He was said to be partying heavily, even trying to hang from a light fixture before breaking it. Kidd, according to TMZ, ignored friends who implored him not to drive. He left alone in the SUV.

The fallout has sent the Knicks tumbling. One selfish decision to get behind the wheel after a long summer night of partying has pushed the dominoes, and here’s where we add the obvious caveat—at least Kidd hit an object and not other humans—before chronicling how he thoughtlessly left his new team in the lurch.

To recap the Knicks’ silly weekend: Kidd and Lin were copacetic, not Steve Nash and Lin maybe, but definitely suitable assuming the Knicks matched the Houston Rockets’ offer sheet ... which of course would happen, considering team officials reportedly said they’d match anything “up to $1 billion” and that coach Mike Woodson told reporters he considered Lin his starting point guard for next season ... until Lin, either sneakily or very smartly (hint: he’s a Harvard grad) plotted to get the Rockets to upgrade the offer to $25 million guaranteed over three years ... which prompted the miffed Knicks to go forward with a sign-and-trade with the Trail Blazers to bring back point guard Raymond Felton, presumably ending their affair with Lin ... but hold on, because there goes Kidd in his SUV, and there goes the pole, and there goes the head of Jimmy Dolan, exploding.

Whew.

Dolan, the Knicks owner, is a recovering substance abuser and has never been averse to giving players second chances. He’ll forgive Kidd, especially if the media and fans beg the Knicks to cut him loose. Dolan and his good pal Isiah Thomas are likely counseling Kidd at this very minute.

But what, if anything, does Kidd’s horrible misstep mean for the negotiations with Lin? The Knicks have until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday to match the offer sheet or lose Lin to the Rockets.

“It could mean (the Knicks) decide that Jeremy is worth (matching the Rockets’ offer) despite the salary cap hit they’ll take,” said one NBA source. “Jeremy is still an unknown in some ways, but he’s never going to give you a headache off the court.”

And from the mouth of one of Lin’s teammates came this curious comment: "It's not up to me. It's up to the organization to say that they want to match that ridiculous contract.”

That was Carmelo Anthony speaking to Newsday. This, after his own union bared its fangs and fought for additional rights for any restricted free agents. The carnage from that brawl resulted in lost games, piles of injuries and bitter fans, but at least veteran players emerged from the lockout with better contract leverage.

Melo’s odd comment presumably revolves around the restructuring of Lin’s contract and the $14.9 million that kicks in the final year, thus hammering the Knicks to the tune of $30 million when the luxury tax is factored.

In yet another twist, Houston is one of the teams that blinked at the undrafted Lin and then discarded him before last season. His sensational run in New York over the winter captured the world’s fascination, made it seem clear he and the Knicks were one of those rare romances where both sides needed each other.

In 35 games and 25 mostly sensational starts, before a knee injury interceded, there was no better show than Lin on Broadway. He went from the D-League to the end of the bench to an international marvel who willed the Knicks to seven straight wins and averaged 17.9 points in his final 27 games.

More than that, he was a marketing dream, the league’s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent circling the globe so that Knicks’ games were must-see events in Asia. It grew impossible to find T-shirts with Lin’s No. 17 in stores in New York; because of his popularity, Time Warner Cable was forced to end its dispute with Dolan’s MSG Network. Thanks to Lin, the Knicks ruled the tabloids’ front and back pages, that prime slice of real estate as valuable to sports teams as Fifth Avenue is to social climbers.

Yes, this seemed a romance built for the long haul.

As far as we know, Lin’s idea of partying revolves around a six-pack of soft drinks and some video games. But he does have his faults, and they were laid bare in that regular-season game between New York and the Miami Heat. Knicks fans watched it with their hands half covering their eyes, for it was painful to see Lin turning over the ball and heaving up bricks and looking like a D-Leaguer among giants. His body of work without that spectacular winter is limited. It’s not certain whether he can sustain a full season, and nearly $15 million for a third year does seem absurd.

But if the Knicks could stomach the luxury tax hit, a three-headed point guard featuring Lin, Felton and Kidd wouldn’t be the most awful thing to emerge from the Garden. It would be compelling back-page fodder to see who best co-existed with the offense running through Anthony. It would be interesting to watch Kidd, a superstar in his twilight, juggle a limited role while mentoring Lin.

Part of the reason Kidd returned to the East Coast was so he could be close to his palatial home in the Hamptons. This is where the one percent and the pretty people hang for the summer. His Saturday was spent at a benefit held at a private East Hampton estate and hosted by singer Ne-Yo to honor George Lucas, the film producer. From there everyone went to the chi-chi SL East club, according to police sources, and sometime around 1 a.m. Kidd made the asinine decision to get behind the wheel, even as cabs and luxury car services lined up outside for passengers.

Kidd was released without bail, his injuries said to be minor. The telephone pole wasn't so lucky.